Business briefs

DENVER — A new Colorado logo unveiled by Gov. John Hickenlooper’s administration is getting mixed reviews.

Part of a new marketing push by the state, the triangle-shaped logo — dubbed the “Peak” — seeks to represent the state’s mountains as well as Colorado’s ascension, state officials said. The design was chosen based on survey results of in-state residents and out-of-state visitors.

Some in the public are critical of the logo, questioning everything from the use of a triangle to its simplistic design that one observer said looked like the work of a grade school student, according to online comments received by the state’s media.

Aaron Kennedy, who helped found the Noodles and Company restaurant chain and was tabbed by Hickenlooper to oversee a rebranding of the state, said the logo and a new state slogan, “It’s Our Nature,” will help market Colorado.

“We have a state flag and seal but until now Colorado has never had a unified brand,” Kennedy said.

“This brand will not only help Colorado attract talent and jobs but also save public dollars by eliminating the need to manage individual brands for each agency and department in state government.”

The rebranding effort cost an estimated $2.6 million funded largely through private and in-kind donations. State agencies will transition to using the logo within the year and Colorado companies can also place it on products with the state’s permission.

COLORADO

Maes named

to lottery board

Pueblo retired Chief District Judge Dennis Maes has been appointed to his first term on the Colorado Lottery Commission, the lottery announced. Maes’ term expires July 2017.

Maes served as the chief judge of the Tenth Judicial District based in Pueblo from 1995 through 2012. Maes also serves on the board of directors for the Pueblo Latino Chamber of Commerce and Mental Health of America Colorado.

The commission oversees the operations of the Pueblo-based state lottery.

SNAP STAT

$200

The average monthly premium for an individual health insurance policy in Colorado in 2014, under rate changes recently announced by the state of Colorado to comply with federal health care reforms, according to The Colorado Trust, a nonprofit that studies health care issues. Policies will vary by county and range in cost from $135 to $1,000.

Business Briefs are compiled from staff reports and Chieftain wire services.